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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Super Mario T-Shirt Tote

I seem to be slacking even more when it comes to posting. Oops. I was a precinct official in the elections on Tuesday, though, so the majority of my time the past few days has been eaten up by preparing, working and then recouping from that. But anyway.

This is technically a re-post, but eh. It’s my blog. :P

There are about fifty bajillion ways to make a tote bag from a t-shirt, but this is my preferred method. It’s quick, easy and requires no sewing! Hooray! Plus it’s a great way to upcycle some of those old shirts you just can’t bear to part with.

You will need: A t-shirt (any size, new or old) Scissors Yarn needle (optional) Beads (optional)

This was the shirt I used. I picked it up for $4 at Big Lots. It’s a kids size, so it makes a pretty decent tote bag.

Begin by using your handy dandy scissors to chop off the sleeves and collar of your shirt. You can shape the collar to make the opening of your bag different, but I chose to keep it simple.

Cut some strips from the sleeves and set them aside for now.

Use your scissors them to cut some slits into the hem of the t-shirt. This will form the bottom of your bag. Make sure to use the hem to your advantage (meaning, don’t cut too far!)

The number of slits you cut into the hem will determine how many holes/gathers are in the bottom of your bag. You can make it so that the bottom gathers into the center, by just cutting one set of slits. This makes the bag narrower at the bottom, so I chose to cut more slits, making four gathers/holes in all. This makes the bottom of my bag a bit wider.

One that’s done, take your yarn needle and thread one of your t-shirt strips into it. (You don’t necessarily have to use the needle for this, but it does make the process easier.)

Feed the thread through the hem.

Pull it so that it gathers, and then tie it off. Repeat across the bottom of the bag.

You can stop at this point, if you like. I chose to string some wooden beads from my stash onto the threads, to add a little bit of pizzaz.

Cute, eh?

And voila! You have a super cute t-shirt tote bag, all ready to put to use!

I have heard these make fantastic shopping bag alternatives, but I’ve never tested this theory. I think they’d make fantastic gifts!

So there you have it.

Oh, and just because..

This is Pepper, who feels it is her duty to supervise my crafting. She’s so silly!